Developing community-based forest ecosystem service management to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation

Wang³

et al. 2020

For. Ecosyst.

Background Aboveground biomass (AGB) is a fundamental indicator of forest ecosystem productivity and health and hence plays an essential role in evaluating forest carbon reserves and supporting the development of targeted forest management plans. Methods Here, we proposed a random forest/co-kriging framework that integrates the strengths of machine learning and geostatistical approaches to improve the mapping accuracies of AGB in northern Guangdong Province of China. We used Landsat time-series observations, Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) data, and National Forest Inventory (NFI) plot measurements, to generate the forest AGB maps at three time points (1992, 2002 and 2010) showing the spatio-temporal dynamics of AGB in the subtropical forests in Guangdong, China. Results The proposed model was capable of mapping forest AGB using spectral, textural, topographical variables and the radar backscatter coefficients in an effective and reliable manner. The root mean square error of the plot-level AGB validation was between 15.62 and 53.78 t∙ha− 1, the mean absolute error ranged from 6.54 to 32.32 t∙ha− 1, the bias ranged from − 2.14 to 1.07 t∙ha− 1, and the relative improvement over the random forest algorithm was between 3.8% and 17.7%. The largest coefficient of determination (0.81) and the smallest mean absolute error (6.54 t∙ha− 1) were observed in the 1992 AGB map. The spectral saturation effect was minimized by adding the PALSAR data to the modeling variable set in 2010. By adding elevation as a covariable, the co-kriging outperformed the ordinary kriging method for the prediction of the AGB residuals, because co-kriging resulted in better interpolation results in the valleys and plains of the study area. Conclusions Validation of the three AGB maps with an independent dataset indicated that the random forest/co-kriging performed best for AGB prediction, followed by random forest coupled with ordinary kriging (random forest/ordinary kriging), and the random forest model. The proposed random forest/co-kriging framework provides an accurate and reliable method for AGB mapping in subtropical forest regions with complex topography. The resulting AGB maps are suitable for the targeted development of forest management actions to promote carbon sequestration and sustainable forest management in the context of climate change.

Section: Long-term Changes In Agb and Their Effects On Policymentioning

confidence: 95%

Machine learning and geostatistical approaches for estimating aboveground biomass in Chinese subtropical forests

Wang³

et al. 2020

For. Ecosyst.

“…In the study area, signi cant changes were observed in the AGB values and spatial distribution in the 18 years. Previous studies have shown that extensive deforestation contributes to global climate change, altering hydrological cycle patterns, and resulting in adverse environmental effects, such as soil erosion and degradation (Eckert et al 2011;Muttaqin et al 2019). Shen et al found increases in the temperature and decreases in the precipitation from 1986 to 2016 of Guangdong province, and the correlation between climate and AGB decrease was lower than that between human activities and AGB (Shen et al 2018).…”

Section: Long-term Changes In Agb and Their Effects On Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Machine learning and geostatistical approaches for estimating aboveground biomass in Chinese subtropical forests

Wang³

et al. 2020

Preprint

Background: Aboveground biomass (AGB) is a fundamental indicator of forest ecosystem productivity and health and hence plays an essential role in evaluating forest carbon reserves and supporting the development of targeted forest management plans. Methods: Here, we proposed a random forest/co-kriging framework that integrates the strengths of machine learning and geostatistical approaches to improve the mapping accuracies of AGB in northern Guangdong province of China. We used Landsat time-series observations, Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) data, and National Forest Inventory (NFI) plot measurements, to generate the forest AGB maps at three time points (1992, 2002, and 2010) showing the spatio-temporal dynamics of AGB in the subtropical forests in Guangdong, China. Results: The proposed model provided excellent performance for mapping AGB using spectral, textural, and topographical variables, and the radar backscatter coefficients. The root mean square error of the plot-level AGB validation was between 15.62 and 53.78 (t/ha), the mean absolute error ranged from 6.54 to 32.32 t/ha, and the relative improvement over the random forest algorithm was between 3.8% and 17.7%. The highest coefficient of determination (0.81) and the lowest mean absolute error (6.54 t/ha) were observed in the 1992 AGB map. The spectral saturation effect was minimized by adding the PALSAR data to the modeling variable set in 2010. By adding elevation as a covariable, the co-kriging outperformed the ordinary kriging method for the prediction of the AGB residuals, because co-kriging resulted in better interpolation results in the valleys and plains of the study area. Conclusions: Validation of the three AGB maps with an independent dataset indicated that the random forest/co-kriging performed best for AGB prediction, followed by random forest coupled with ordinary kriging (random forest/ordinary kriging), and the random forest model. The proposed random forest/co-kriging framework provides an accurate and reliable method for AGB mapping in subtropical forest regions with complex topography. The resulting AGB maps are suitable for the targeted development of forest management actions to promote carbon sequestration and sustainable forest management in the context of climate change.

“…In the study area, signi cant changes were observed in the AGB values and spatial distribution in the 18 years. Previous studies have shown that extensive deforestation contributes to global climate change, altering hydrological cycle patterns, and resulting in adverse environmental effects, such as soil erosion and degradation (Eckert et al 2011;Muttaqin et al 2019). Shen et al found increases in the temperature and decreases in the precipitation from 1986 to 2016 of Guangdong province, and the correlation between climate and AGB decrease was smaller than that between human activities and AGB (Shen et al 2018).…”

Section: Long-term Changes In Agb and Their Effects On Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Machine learning and geostatistical approaches for estimating aboveground biomass in Chinese subtropical forests

Wang³

et al. 2020

Preprint

Background: Aboveground biomass (AGB) is a fundamental indicator of forest ecosystem productivity and health and hence plays an essential role in evaluating forest carbon reserves and supporting the development of targeted forest management plans.Methods: Here, we proposed a random forest/co-kriging framework that integrates the strengths of machine learning and geostatistical approaches to improve the mapping accuracies of AGB in northern Guangdong province of China. We used Landsat time-series observations, Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) data, and National Forest Inventory (NFI) plot measurements, to generate the forest AGB maps at three time points (1992, 2002, and 2010) showing the spatio-temporal dynamics of AGB in the subtropical forests in Guangdong, China.Results: The proposed model was capable of mapping forest AGB using spectral, textural, topographical variables and the radar backscatter coefficients in an effective and reliable manner. The root mean square error of the plot-level AGB validation was between 15.62 and 53.78 (t/ha), the mean absolute error ranged from 6.54 to 32.32 t/ha, the bias ranged from -2.14 to 1.07 t/ha, and the relative improvement over the random forest algorithm was between 3.8% and 17.7%. The largest coefficient of determination (0.81) and the smallest mean absolute error (6.54 t/ha) were observed in the 1992 AGB map. The spectral saturation effect was minimized by adding the PALSAR data to the modeling variable set in 2010. By adding elevation as a covariable, the co-kriging outperformed the ordinary kriging method for the prediction of the AGB residuals, because co-kriging resulted in better interpolation results in the valleys and plains of the study area.Conclusions: Validation of the three AGB maps with an independent dataset indicated that the random forest/co-kriging performed best for AGB prediction, followed by random forest coupled with ordinary kriging (random forest/ordinary kriging), and the random forest model. The proposed random forest/co-kriging framework provides an accurate and reliable method for AGB mapping in subtropical forest regions with complex topography. The resulting AGB maps are suitable for the targeted development of forest management actions to promote carbon sequestration and sustainable forest management in the context of climate change.